Several groups in Maryland on Sunday continued their last-minute push to influence voters before Election Day, with the debate being particularly heated over ballot questions regarding the Dream Act, same-sex marriage and gambling.

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One expert said those issues are the ones that will be driving voters to the polls.

Supporters of the Dream Act on Sunday gathered at Baltimore Freedom Academy to rally support for the bill that would allow the children of illegal immigrants living in Maryland to pay in-state tuition at Maryland colleges.

"We need to have our best and brightest going to and through college so they can produce and give back and pay taxes," said Zeke Cohen, executive director of the nonprofit group The Intersection.

In Catonsville, supporters hoping to legalize same-sex marriage prepared volunteers to spend Tuesday at the polls.

"We're going to have thousands of people across the state meeting voters at the polls, giving them a little bit of last-minute information about Question 6, making sure all voters know this is just about treating everybody in Maryland fairly and equally under the law," said Josh Levin, the campaign manager for the group Marylanders for Marriage Equality.

But University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Department of Public Policy Chairman Don Norris said that last-minute information probably isn't going to make a difference.

"Maybe these volunteers have some impact on getting the vote out, in terms of people who have already made up their minds, but in terms of changing minds -- affecting an outcome of the election -- generally, that's not the case," he said.

Usually it's the top of the ticket that drives voters to the polls -- in this case, the race for president -- but since Maryland leans heavily Democratic, few would dispute that President Barack Obama will most likely win the state's electoral votes. Instead, turnout could hinge on the statewide ballot questions.

"We've got at least three ballot questions that are very emotional in nature. They could very well drive turnout," Norris said.

The 2012 election has already seen record turnout for early voting, with almost 12 percent of eligible Maryland voters already having cast their ballots. But Norris said he is wary of any predictions gathered from those numbers.

"We don't have any evidence nationwide from any studies that early voting makes a difference either in overall turnout, turnout among subgroups or the results of an election," he said.